7) Beauty

Beauty abounds in nature: the majestic mountains, the delicate hues of a flower, the brilliant colors of a sunset, the sparkle of dew on the morning grass. There is harmony of shape and color, light and shadow, sound and silence. Harmony is an aspect of beauty. Harmony is inherent in the very structure of the universe. The ancients found mathematics to be the basis of music, and today scientists are learning more about the “music of the spheres” in the motions of the stars and the properties of the atom. Singing birds and chirping insects sound nature’s music as they seek for love. They are expressing its inherent harmony; human music cannot compare with it. The dissonance of our fallen condition condemns us to strike discordant notes. Were that human beings as harmonious as nature!

Human beings, God’s supreme creations, should manifest supreme beauty. People sing, dance, and create beautiful art, but more than that, we find beauty in one another, in expressions of love. There is inner beauty in a loving couple, a filial child caring for aged parents, and a loyal citizen making sacrificial efforts for the welfare of his or her nation. The beauty that people manifest in these ways also glorifies God, who delights to see beauty abounding in His works. This inner beauty becomes apparent in the spirit world—where beauty abounds for those who are worthy.